The Romano situation now has its clearest public articulation: Juventus want him in January, Cagliari have said no to January, and the transfer will instead become one of the most compelling summer stories of the next window. The club’s interest, Lanzo confirms, predated this season’s revelatory form by some distance — Massara’s knowledge of Romano from his Roma academy years means Juventus had a file on this specific player before Carnevali’s delegation attended the Dall’Ara. The desire to move in January and loan him back to Cagliari for the remainder of the season was a considered option; Accardi’s public rejection of that formula this morning makes it clear the winter route is closed. Inter are ready to accelerate on a player whose valuation is rising with every week of the season.
The Actual January Priority — Left-Back
With Romano confirmed as a summer pursuit, the article pivots to the genuine winter priority: the left-back position. It is the structural gap the squad has carried throughout the opening weeks, covered imperfectly by Çelik on the left in a position that is not naturally his, and with Cabal still working through his recovery. The second chapter — “Priorità al terzino sinistro” — addresses why this specific position has risen to the top of Carnevali’s January list.
Thuram’s recovery timeline — early 2027 — and the midfield injury picture mean that Juventus’s January budget and squad-building focus will be split between a left-back and, conditionally, a midfielder. The conditional clause on the midfield is Koopmeiners: if his form remains as inconsistent as the opening weeks have suggested, the sale that would finance Højbjerg becomes more plausible. If he reinvents himself under the influence of the Serbia free kick and the Xavi central defensive experience, the case for spending on a midfielder in January weakens.
Tagliafico — the Second-Attempt Gift
The third chapter — “Occhi su Tagliafico” — provides the surprise name that gives the article its headline. Nicolás Tagliafico is tagged with the article, and the “regalo al secondo tentativo” — gift at the second attempt — refers to a deal that was discussed during the summer but did not materialise. The Argentine left-back, experienced in European football at the highest level and in the latter stage of a career that has taken him from Ajax through Barcelona to Lyon, is now back in Juventus’s active considerations for January.
The profile fits in ways that are immediately obvious from the squad’s current needs: an experienced, technically accomplished left-footed defender who can operate both as a full-back in a back four and as a left-sided centre-back in a three, contributing defensively and in build-up. Age is the only complicating factor — but Carnevali’s summer philosophy, as demonstrated by the Neto goalkeeper signing, has been explicitly comfortable with experienced players as solutions to specific problems, provided the contribution is real and the wage structure is sustainable.
The “second attempt” framing suggests a summer conversation that reached an advanced stage before stalling — and which January, with both parties clearer about their respective needs, may be the right moment to complete.
